Chapter 88: We're Brothers - Callista's POV
The hallway fell completely silent. Riven didn’t move beside me, but I felt the shift in him immediately through our bond. The panic that had been pouring through it seconds ago hardened into something more dangerous and deadly. His breathing slowed, but it wasn’t calm. That kind of stillness always came before something snapped and I hated to think what would happen in this hallway if it did.
Across the hall, the man who attacked me leaned casually against the doorway of the ruined room as if none of this bothered him in the slightest. If anything, he looked amused by the entire situation.
“Well,” he said lightly, glancing between us and the Alpha King. “Looks like you found us, Father.”
The Alpha King stepped forward at the far end of the hallway with the same calm composure he always wore. His hands were neatly folded behind his back as he took another step forward. His gaze drifted to different spots in the hallway, taking in the cracked stone and claw marks. Then his eyes locked onto Riven, who had positioned himself between us.
Nothing about the scene seemed to surprise him. “I wondered how long it would take,” he said calmly.
My stomach twisted. “You knew I would come here?” I asked before I could stop myself.
His gaze shifted to me, sharp and measuring, as if that question alone confirmed something for him.
“You are a seer,” he replied. “Curiosity is part of your nature and I knew you’d want to know. I am a bit surprised that you snuck out on your first night here, but not entirely.”
That answer didn’t make me feel any better. Beside me, Riven’s breathing had grown rougher again. I could feel it through the bond, every ounce of his focus locked on the Alpha King.
“You’re going to answer our questions,” Riven said, his voice low and strained. “Starting with why he calls me brother.”
The man across the hall chuckled under his breath. “You still haven’t told him?” He asked, sounding genuinely amused.
Riven’s head snapped toward him. “Shut up.”
“Temper,” the man murmured. “You really do take after him.”
The Alpha King’s gaze flicked briefly toward his son, a silent warning passing between them. The man didn’t stop smiling, but he didn’t push further either. Riven looked back at the Alpha King, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscle ticked.
“I want the truth,” Riven demanded. “Why does he call me brother?”
For the first time since arriving, the Alpha King sighed softly. “This was not how I intended for you to learn,” he admitted, a grimace crossing his face. “But I see the damage has already been done.”
“That’s not an answer,” Riven snapped.
The man in the doorway pushed himself upright and folded his arms loosely across his chest, clearly enjoying every second of this.
“Then I’ll say it,” he offered.
“Enough, Raze,” the Alpha King said calmly.
Something in the air shifted when he spoke. The word wasn’t loud, but it carried enough authority that even my wolf instinctively stiffened. The man rolled his eyes but fell silent.
Riven didn’t look intimidated. If anything, he looked more ticked.
“Why does he look like me?” He demanded. “Did you—”
I knew he was about to ask. He was trying to figure out how he had an older brother and probably questioning everything.
No one answered right away. My gaze moved between them again, and now that the shock had settled, the resemblance was impossible to ignore. The similarities weren’t subtle anymore. Every moment that passed, I was seeing more and more of Riven in him. Even the way they stood held echoes of each other.
The only real difference was the darkness crawling beneath the other man’s skin.
“You really never noticed?” the man asked, sounding almost disappointed. “I thought the resemblance was obvious.”
Riven ignored him completely.
“Tell me the truth,” he said to the Alpha King again. “Am I adopted?”
The Alpha King studied him for a long moment before finally speaking. “You were adopted,” he admitted.
Riven didn’t react at first. For a moment, it was as if the words hadn’t fully sank in yet. His body remained rigid right beside me, every muscle locked into place while the bond between us pulsed in uneven waves, then it all came crashing down.
I felt it through the bond before he moved. He was shocked. Pure, disorienting shock.
“That’s not possible. My mother has pictures of me with her as a baby. She was in a hospital gown at the pack hospital,” he said, his voice barely audible. “I look like my parents. I’ve seen pictures of my dad as a boy and I look…”
His voice sounded wrong. Hollow. The Alpha King didn’t respond immediately.
Riven let out a short breath and shook his head, as if he could physically force the words out of existence.
“No,” he said again, more firmly this time. “My parents never said anything about that.”
Across the hallway, Raze let out a quiet laugh. “Well,” he said lightly, “that’s awkward.”
Riven’s head snapped toward him so fast the movement almost blurred. “You’re lying,” he snapped. “I can’t be your brother. This has to be some kind of cruel joke.”
Raze’s grin widened, though the black veins crawling along his throat pulsed faintly under his skin. “Why would I lie about that?” He asked. “Think about it.”
“I don’t need to think about anything you say,” Riven shot back.
Raze tilted his head slightly, studying him with open curiosity. “Really?” He murmured. “Because you look exactly like me.”
Riven didn’t answer. The silence stretched taut between them. The Alpha King stepped forward another pace, his expression calm but noticeably more guarded now.
“Your parents believed it was the best choice,” he said carefully.
Riven turned toward him again, disbelief written across every line of his face. “My parents?” He repeated. “The ones who raised me?”
“Yes.” Riven’s hands slowly curled into fists at his sides.
“You’re saying they… took me?” He asked, his voice trembling.
“No,” the Alpha King replied. “They were asked to take you and everything was forged so you would inherit the Nightshade pack.”
That didn’t make the tension ease. If anything, it made the air in the hallway feel heavier. Riven stared at him as if he had never seen him before.
“Who asked them to do it? Was it you?”
The Alpha King just stared at us and didn’t answer.
“Father,” Raze said with a shrug, answered for him. “He asked them to take you.”
Riven’s eyes flashed, red briefly breaking through the gold before fading again. “You’re not my brother,” he said through clenched teeth.
Raze hummed thoughtfully. “You keep saying that,” he replied, “but the evidence is standing right in front of you.”
Riven took a slow step forward. Instinctively, I reached for his arm.
“Riven,” I said quietly. “Don’t. You need to find out what happened.”
The moment my fingers brushed his sleeve, the bond reacted violently. His panic surged again, tangled with anger and confusion so intense it made my chest ache. He didn’t pull away from me, but he didn’t look at me either.
His attention remained locked on the Alpha King.
“If that’s true,” he said slowly, “then why? Why wouldn’t you let me stay here and raise me yourself?” The question echoed softly through the hallway. “Why would you give up one of your sons?”
The Alpha King’s gaze flickered briefly toward Raze. For the first time since we had seen him, something uneasy passed across his expression.
“You were not given away,” he said carefully.
“Then what happened?” Riven demanded.
Raze leaned his shoulder against the ruined doorway again, clearly enjoying the moment. “Oh, this part is good,” he murmured.
The Alpha King’s eyes sharpened. “Raze.”
“Fine,” he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. But the grin never left his face.
Riven’s breathing grew heavier. I could feel the storm building inside of him through the bond. “You said he was my brother,” Riven said, gesturing toward Raze. “So explain it.”
The Alpha King finally spoke again. “You were separated,” he said quietly. “Intentionally.”
Riven’s brow furrowed. “Separated from what?”
“From this place,” the Alpha King replied.
Riven stared at him. “Why?”
Silence lingered in the air much longer this time, then Raze answered. “One of us had to leave.’
Riven’s head turned toward him slowly. “What does that mean? You’re not telling me why.”
Raze’s black eyes gleamed in the dim hallway light. “It means,” he said, “that Father had a problem.”
The Alpha King’s voice cut through the corridor instantly. “That is enough.”
But Raze didn’t stop. “Two sons,” he continued calmly, his gaze locked on Riven. “Both showing the same signs. He had to do something.”
My stomach tightened. Riven went very still beside me.
“So you kept Raze and gave me up?” He asked, his voice cracking on each word. “And you’re now telling me this? You said I would take over as Alpha King, so you could leave with your son. That I would find a cure for your son. How am I supposed to find a cure when…we’re brothers.”